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Fiance' Overseas

afrenchprincessafrenchprincess
First Comment First Anniversary
in Catholic Weddings
Hello,
My fiance is overseas and we are awaiting his fiance visa. However, once we get approved for the fiance visa we have 90 days to get married and our diocese makes us wait 6 months before we get married. I am so saddened and depressed by this. Do you guys know what we could do? I want to get married in my home catholic church.
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Re: Fiance' Overseas

  • lalaith50lalaith50 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    Have you tried actually explaining your situation to the priest at your parish?
    I know that most dioceses make you wait 6 months (or more,) but even if only you can sit down with your priest (or better yet, make a meeting with him and your fiance via skype so you all can be there!) then can't they count that point as the time frame?

    Extraordinary circumstances (in the truest sense of the word, and I believe military does fall under that category) can certainly be a reason to shorten the 6 months.

    Also, I'm not quite sure I understand exactly what a "fiance visa" is... so I'm curious, it sounds like you haven't met with any priest at all up to this point, to get the process started? Either way, the thing you should do ASAP is set up a meeting with a good priest, and explain the situation!
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  • afrenchprincessafrenchprincess
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    Hi lalaith50 This is a synoposis of a fiance visa here. You have to meet certain requirements and have physically met your fiance in person.

    In the United States, if you are a U.S. citizen and have a foreign fiance, you may be able to apply for a fiance visa, which enables your fiance to live in the United States, providing that you both meet certain conditions.

    1. Types

      • The nonimmigrant fiance visa enables your fiance to come to the United States for the purpose of marriage. According to the U.S. Department of State, in order to apply for the fiance visa, you must be an U.S. citizen and www.ehow.com/facts_6149289_finance-visa_.html#" class="itxtrst itxtrsta itxthook">plan to marry your fiance in the U.S.

      Time Frame

      • You must marry within 90 days of your fiance's entrance to the U.S. The time frame for processing the paperwork prior to approval varies from case to case.

      Function

      • The fiance visa allows your fiance to live with you in the U.S. In order to work, your fiance can apply for a www.ehow.com/facts_6149289_finance-visa_.html#" class="itxtrst itxtrsta itxthook">social security number after the visa is approved.

      Considerations

      • Fees for a fiance visa can be high because you need to pay several processing fees, medical exams, and fingerprinting tests.




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  • Riss91Riss91 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited December 2011
    I agree that you need to meet with the priest ASAP. If he can't bend the 6-month requirement for you, can't you just have your fiance arrive less than 3 months from the day of the wedding? You can still start the marriage prep while he is overseas.

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  • professorscienceprofessorscience member
    First Comment First Anniversary 5 Love Its Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_catholic-weddings_fiance-overseas?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural%20Wedding%20BoardsForum:615Discussion:c5322bfe-b14a-4526-bbef-a2e967cdadf3Post:eda5d078-2d78-420c-804c-cab59e035533">Re: Fiance' Overseas</a>:
    [QUOTE]I agree that you need to meet with the priest ASAP. If he can't bend the 6-month requirement for you, can't you just have your fiance arrive less than 3 months from the day of the wedding? <strong>You can still start the marriage prep while he is overseas.</strong>
    Posted by Riss91[/QUOTE]

    <div>This.  At my engaged encounter weekend, there was a guy whose fiance was in Brazil taking the class at the same time.  Every time we'd take a break, he'd call her to discuss whatever topic we were on.</div>
    Anniversary

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  • OliveOilsMomOliveOilsMom member
    First Anniversary First Comment First Answer 5 Love Its
    edited December 2011
    As PP said, go and talk to your priest asap. 

    If you can't marry in the Church within your 3 month time limit this may actually be a candidate for a Convalidation.  A Convalidation can be hard to get and not always granted, so that is why it is important to talk with your priest now.  He can help you sort out what would best fit your needs.
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  • afrenchprincessafrenchprincess
    First Comment First Anniversary
    edited December 2011
    I'm going to talk with him. Hadn't been to church in a few Sundays because I have been ill and he usually doesn't keep office hours he does a lot of other work. But that seems cool from what I had understood he had to be with me and get certificates to do the wedding prep. But if he could be someplace else and we could still do it that would be so AWESOME!
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  • lalaith50lalaith50 member
    First Anniversary 5 Love Its First Comment Name Dropper
    edited December 2011
    (oh, oops, I was totally confusing "visa" with military! duh! not sure why I did that!)

    Good luck and God bless with getting it figured out!
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  • lisag76lisag76
    First Comment
    edited December 2011
    I am actually in the same position only I am the one that is not in the country. I am all to familiar with the fiance visa. My fiance and I think it is extremely important to have the full Catholic wedding and not just a convalidation later. So here is what we did. We spent a lot of time researching how long on average fiance visa's take to get. We concluded that rarely does the whole process take more than a year. Then we settled on a date 13 months out just to be on the cautious end of things. And we decided to just hedge our bets and book it. We negotiated with some vendors that if the date needed to be changed we wouldn't be penalized and we spoke to the priest at his mom's parish where we will be getting married. They were very happy to work with us. My parish priest is actually possibly coming down to do the wedding and we are going to our pre-cana stuff here in Canada. One thing to note is that most times your fiance can travel while the visa is being processed, so if there is an engaged encounter weekend, perhaps you can arrange a visit at that time. That way you can do your major prep together and possibly the priest can meet with you then as well. Speak to the priest. I am sure this is not the first time they have heard of this, and if it is I am sure it is not the first time in the Diocese. I am sure they will try to be as accomodating as possible.
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